The leaders of the NATO alliance warn of a real and present danger from Russia —a danger greater now than at any time since end of the Cold War

NATO teams at Baltic air bases conduct training runs

PABRADĖ (Lithuania)- On a desolate plain where Soviet tanks once prepared for a possible invasion of Western Europe, American troops are training to deter Moscow from another invasion.

The U.S. and NATO are ramping up their deterrence capabilities against any Russian threat to Europe’s borders —and this joint exercise is aimed squarely at Russia.

NATO is drawing a red line in the three Baltic states, all of them alliance members, with a message to Moscow: “Don’t cause trouble here and don’t try to invade!”

U.S. Army Capt. Russell Moore, who is leading the troops involved in the current exercise, said the war games show not just that the “the U.S. is willing to stand with all of its NATO alliance partners — It shows that we’re strong, Europe is strong and there’s a collective defense ready to defend against any foreign aggression.”

As a NATO member, Lithuania is protected by the doctrine of collective defense — in particular Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. Article 5 has only been invoked once in NATO’s history, after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Lithuanians were the first to breakaway from Mikael Gorbachev’s Soviet Union. They don’t want to be back under Moscow’s domination ever again.